Carrick leads revitalized Red Devils into crucial Villa match

Had Manchester United been offered a single match with Champions League football at stake when the season kicked off, it would have taken a pass. After all, it had come up short in that exact scenario against Tottenham Hotspur in May.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, would’ve jumped at the chance. A late-winter meltdown had seen it throw away its place in Europe’s most prestigious club competition, and a one-off showdown might have sharpened its focus.

Well, the Birmingham side will get the closest thing to a 90-minute playoff when it visits Old Trafford on Sunday (9:00 a.m., FuboTV).

With nine games to go, United and Villa are tied for third in the Premier League. Neither will finish higher than that, but Chelsea and Liverpool are just three points behind and awaiting a slip-up to nab one or both of England’s four guaranteed Champions League spots.

There may well be a fifth, but it’s not a sure thing. It all depends on how this year’s continental tournaments shake out. In other words, everyone’s planning for four, and Arsenal and Manchester City will likely claim two.

Winning on Sunday would give United or Villa some breathing room. A draw would be a let-down, especially for the guests.

Much like last season, the Villains have had a difficult winter. They’ve won just three of 10 Premier League matches in 2026 and were drubbed 4-1 at home to Chelsea last weekend. The weekend before that, they lost 2-0 at division-worst Wolves.

And yet, manager Unai Emery’s team took a 1-0 win away from Lille in Thursday’s Europa League first leg, so at least it’s travelling northwest on a high. It also knows exactly why its form has been so disappointing. It’s simply not scoring.

Since Feb. 1, Aston Villa has played eight games in all competitions and scored more than once in precisely zero of them. And in its only win prior to Thursday — 1-0 over Brighton on Feb. 11 — it triumphed because of a Jack Hinshelwood own goal.

Ollie Watkins, who needed to be reliable this term, hasn’t scored a domestic goal since January. Morgan Rogers has tallied once in that stretch, Leon Bailey not at all and Jadon Sancho, well — he’s been awful.

It’s a pity, this lacklustre offence, because midfielders Amadou Onana and Douglas Luiz have been solid and mostly kept their team in every match.

Villa needs a win, and it needs it now.

It’s a rather different story at Manchester United, even if its campaign to date has been difficult to gauge.

Under previous manager Ruben Amorim, the Red Devils won three straight in October — a run that included a 2-1 victory at Liverpool. However, it also lost to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, and after Amorim’s bizarre, stubborn tactics delivered two wins from seven he was sent packing.

Enter Michael Carrick.

The former United midfielder and Middlesbrough manager replaced Amorim in January and has since overseen a revival at the club with which he won five titles and the Champions League.

Now, even modest spells of good results tend to generate overreactions at Old Trafford, what with the deterioration of standards in recent times. But when he orchestrated wins over Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two outings, English football took notice.

Carrick’s biggest change has been giving his squad an anti-Amorim — a coach who simplifies things and helps his players feel good about themselves. For instance, he’s redeployed Bruno Fernandes in the captain’s natural, playmaking position. As a result, United’s attacking players have been able to expect crisp, accurate passes into dangerous space. Goals have followed, and who wouldn’t feel good about that?

The new, albeit interim, United boss will also recognize that Sunday’s opponent is ripe for picking off.

Emery prefers an advanced, high-pressure line. United have speed to burn out wide. Should Bryan Mbeumo start centrally, that pace will extend across the top. He, Ahmad Diallo and Matheus Cunha will toy with Villa’s offside trap, and Fernandes will look to spring them.

All that said, the Red Devils were beaten by 10-man Newcastle in their last match, and it’ll be interesting to see how they respond. It was their first loss under Carrick, and the disappointment of the defeat would’ve sent them into a tailspin previously.

If this is indeed a one-game, winner-take-a-Champions League place encounter, Manchester United is in much better shape than last spring. Obviously it would like to win, but there’s probably enough confidence in the group to see it recover if it doesn’t.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, is once again angling into a nosedive. It needs the three points. But with only two wins from its last 37 trips to Old Trafford, it’s unlikely to find a soft landing.

jerradpeters@proton.me

@jerradpeters.bsky.social